I remember dancing in my bedroom to a stack of 45s with my friends. Didn’t have to worry about my weight because I danced every day after school. I was bursting with energy.

I loved going to the youth center with friends. The Rock Falls Youth Center was above a store on Second Street. The anticipation as I waited for the boy I liked to brave the crowd and ask me to dance.

I remember going to the Sterling Theater to watch Elvis, Ann-Margret or Annette Funicello. Everyone dancing on the beach in their swimsuits. So young and innocent we were, with the world stretched out ahead of us.

So many things lay ahead, we couldn’t even imagine. We danced with such joy and contentment as we viewed our world through “rose-colored glasses.”

The real world, the adult world, only a few years ahead, waiting to challenge us and put a few scratches in those “rose-colored glasses.”